Since it’s that time of year again, I thought I’d reiterate
on how important it is to keep yourself healthy during the school year. For
those of you who are first year college students, this is quite a big change,
as you progress into the nest step of your life where, suddenly, you don’t have
anyone to tell you when to go to bed, when to wake up so that you’re on time,
in addition to not having your parents around to make sure you eat breakfast or
study for your exam next week. The same goes for all of you continuing college
students only this wont be your first rodeo; although, you are probably more
than happy to be back on your own without all of that ‘parental supervision’.
This means that even though you get to go out and party whenever you want and
have endless amount of social time, you also have to do all of your own
laundry, cooking, cleaning, time management and in some cases, bills.
Here’s some ways to either get you started with your college
journey or get you back into the swing of things.
Establish a daily routine
At first you may take advantage of the freedom that first
encompasses you when you head off to college. For example, the freedom of
eating meals at whatever time of day you wish, or going to bed at two a.m. and
waking up at twelve. However, that freedom isn’t so cool when you oversleep and
miss your first morning class and notice that you don’t have any clean shirts
left… and realize that your assignment that is due is no where to be found.
The best way to prevent this series of unfortunate event
from happening would be to create a routine for yourself right off the bat.
Establish patterns for an organized and orderly day. Keep things such as your
student ID, keys, ect. In a designated place for safekeeping. Keep materials
for each course in separate folders and stored either in your desk or backpack.
Set aside a time frame to eat dinner, a time frame to study and also make sure
you have time in your day to get a sufficient amount of sleep. Which brings me
to my next point…
GET ENOUGH SLEEP
Sleep is so important because it gives our body the time it
needs to recharge after a long day of trekking across campus from class to
class and all of the long hours of burying your faces in textbooks. When deprived
of sufficient sleep the brain does not obtain information as well, which makes
it extremely hard to learn. I mean don’t get me wrong, I know that sometimes
pulling an all nighter is inevitable in college, but as a general rule, try to
allow yourself at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night!
Eat properly
Make sure you are getting sufficient balanced meals with all
of the nutrients in them. MAKE SURE YOU EAT BREAKFAST. If you are getting
enough sleep, this means that your body has gone without fuel for at least
eight hours. Even though you may not feel hungry when you wake up, wait a few
minutes and then make sure you get your macros anyways because whether or not
you choose to believe it, your body needs and wants that morning fuel to get
going and allow for a productive day. An example of a superb and ideal
breakfast would be scrambled eggs with cheese, toast and milk or juice. You
could also go with yogurt and granola for an easier, less maintenance
approach. If you skip breakfast, you
will go through your day and feel sluggish and wont be able to concentrate
nearly as well. The other two meals are important as well. You should make sure
that you are getting an even balance of carbs, proteins and fats, with some
added in fruits and veggies to ensure that your body is functioning at it’s
best.
